Girls und Panzer: Alternative
by Cloudberry Jam
Summary: In an alternate timeline, Kuromorimine had beaten Pravda to win the high school championships for the tenth consecutive time. Oarai revived their Senshado curriculum aiming to save their school from closing down, but instead of a miracle transfer student, they have to rely on a rather peculiar outsider for help as their Senshado instructor. Can this guy really lead them to victory?
1. Chapter 1

"Two M4s, two M4(105)s and one Easy 8 currently in motion."

"That's a really beautiful formation, isn't it?"

A few hundred metres away in open rocky terrain, five olive green tanks moved uniformly in a wedge formation, kicking up dust clouds in their wake.

"Yeah. Although I expect that's not going to keep up once battle is joined."

"Those tanks are top-notch though, and the E8 is particularly agile with a powerful 76mm cannon. We'll have to be extra careful when dealing with that one."

"So long as we keep to the strategy, everything will turn out fine."

"Yes..." Sticking out from the cupola of a grey Pz. IV, a bushy-haired schoolgirl frowned nervously.

"What is it?" Asked her conversation partner, who was standing in the driver's hatch.

"Somehow, I still don't have such a good feeling about this."

"About this, you mean? Relax, Yukari-san! They'll never find out. The student council did a great job covering it up, so have some faith in them! Besides, it's pretty convincing, isn't it?"

"Well..."

"Bah, who am I kidding. Whatever it is, it shouldn't be a problem so long as I play it safe. We ready to go?"

"Yes. Please start the engine."

Akiyama Yukari watched the driver disappear down the hatch. Shortly after, the Pz. IV shuddered to life. The hull swiveled to the left, and the tanks that were waiting behind it came into view as they made to move off.

It was a ragtag bunch of misfits: a Type 89 embellished with volleyball motifs and proudly bearing the slogan "VOLLEYBALL CLUB REVIVAL!" in multiple places, a Pz. 38(t) painted glimmering gold, a shockingly pink M3 Lee, and a StuG III decked out in garish yellow and red sporting a quartet of war flags.

In contrast, the outer appearance of the Pz. IV was completely barren of any kind of customization. It currently led the other tanks down a shallow valley at cruising speed. The air filled with the sounds of rumbling engines and crunching gravel beneath tank treads.

"All five enemy tanks are on the move," a voice called out over the radio. Yukari recognized it as belonging to team commander Kawashima Momo, from inside the 38(t). "As discussed earlier, we are going to attract their attention and bait them into our hunting grounds where we will break them apart and annihilate them piecemeal. Team A will draw them in while the rest of you take up positions along the ridgeline. Commence operation Rapidfire!"

"Roger!" A multitude of voices replied over the comms. All of the tanks veered left into a cutaway in the cliff, with the exception of the Pz. IV which stayed its current course.

"Um, Kai-san, what are we supposed to do?" Isuzu Hana addressed the driver as she leaned out of the loader's hatch.

Kai rose from the driver's hatch once more. "We're supposed to fire on the enemy and have them pursue us. Ought to be a simple affair."

"Remember, if we lose we'll be performing the Anglerfish Dance," said Takebe Saori, looking over from the radio operator's hatch.

"This is our first match," Hana said. "All we can do is try our best. Let's go for it."

"That's right, nothing to it but to do it!" Saori chimed in.

Kai hummed in agreement, not wishing to even entertain the thought of performing the seemingly dreaded dance.

"Just being able to see American tanks moving about with my own eyes makes me so happy!" Yukari gushed merrily, practically dancing in the cupola.

"You sure look that way," Saori murmured.

Meanwhile, the only crew member who had not spoken so far, Reizei Mako, sat half-asleep in the gunner's position, her whole body lolling with the jerking motions of the vehicle.

The Pz. IV came to a halt near the edge of a precipice, a slightly elevated position with a clear view of the opponent tanks in the distance.

"Reizei-dono, wake up. Take aim at the enemy in the 2 o'clock and fire whenever you're ready."

The turret traversed and the gun bore down towards the Shermans. A moment later, a shot rang out with a terrific bang. The round whizzed in the air and dug hard into the ground mere feet away from the E8, sending grit splashing everywhere.

"Just a little off," Mako mumbled.

"That's okay, we weren't trying to take them out anyway," Kai stated.

The Pz. IV wheeled around and started back down the valley, the enemy in hot pursuit. Their cannons began opening fire and sending rounds down range. Explosions rocked the terrain everywhere around the Pz. IV.

"Evasive action! " Yukari commanded. "Our armour is thin, one shot from behind and we're done for!"

"I know!" Kai yelled. "I'm going to do some zig-zagging motions, everybody hold on!"

Boulders crumbled and rubble rained down from all around as the Pz. IV swerved left and right desperately to avoid them, as well as the munitions whizzing past with frightening alacrity. Behind them, the gunner of the Easy 8 steadily drew a bead.

Yukari looked back just in time to see a round flying squarely in her direction.

* * *

All was quiet and still in the cabin of a passenger plane. The dawn sun poured in from the windows, bathing the surroundings in a mellow orange glow. Fast asleep in an economy class aisle seat was Kyle Lin, a young man with short black tousled hair.

An announcement chime sounded out over the intercom, followed by a male voice.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We're bound to touch down at Tokyo, Haneda Airport in roughly 30 minutes..."

Kyle woke up with a start. Glancing around the cabin, for a brief moment he struggled to comprehend his surroundings.

 _Oh, that's right,_ He thought to himself. _I'm not at home anymore!_

Until four days ago, Kyle was hating his life. Fresh out of college but unable to secure decent employment, he had been working a shift job at a burger joint flipping patties and taking shit from his boss. With nothing to write home about with his Bachelor's degree in Linguistics, he had been banking on getting picked up for the American Gunnery League Draft after graduation, having played for the highly reputed Hanley University school team, but those positions had been ultimately taken up by his more prominent contemporaries. A lack of tank commander experience proved to be his liability.

One fateful day, he was playing World of Tanks in his room when an important call came in. The caller ID on his phone displayed an unfamiliar number with a prefix from overseas.

"Hello?" He greeted suspiciously.

"Good morning, am I speaking to Kairu Rin?" Asked a heavily accented female voice. It was nighttime, and Kyle recognized the accent. The lady on the other side was calling from Japan.

"Yes, you are."

"My name is Ami Chono, and I represent the National Senshado Federation in Japan. May I have a few minutes of your time?"

 _Senshado?_ He was familiar with the term. Transliterated it meant 'Way of the Tank', and it was the name of the type of gunnery that was played in Japan. That would possibly explain why he was having to entertain a seemingly random overseas phone call. His interest was piqued. "You have them."

"Thank you very much. By the way, you appear to have JPLT N1 certification, so is it comfortable for you to speak in Japanese?"

「ええ、日本語でも大丈夫です。」 ("Yes, I'm fine with it as well.") His passion for anime, maid cafes, and visual novels had motivated him to learn the language in his four years of college, and in that time he had achieved near-native fluency of the language. In this particular venture he was very proud.

"Wow, your Japanese is impressive!" Ami had reverted to her native tongue as well. "Thank you. Let us continue in this manner then. May I confirm that late last year you applied for the JET Programme with CLAIR?"

"That I did." Kyle remembered putting in a written application and attending an interview for the Japan Exchange Teaching programme, an initiative by the Japanese council of international relations to employ foreigners in language teaching positions in schools around Japan. In other words, it was a job teaching English to Japanese students. He figured it was a job he could do given his language ability, but that had been a while ago and he had not since received any notification on whether he had been selected.

"Well, it had been acknowledged that you possess experience with the operation of tanks while playing college gunnery in university. Your application to JET had been forwarded to us and filed for reference, along with words of commendation from the recruitment department at CLAIR."

"Uh huh."

"To get to the point, a high school had very recently revived their Senshado curriculum, and they had put in a request with the Fuji Tank Training School to engage a stay-in tank operation instructor. Due to preparations for the International Senshado Championship which is to be held in Japan in a few years' time, our manpower is stretched thin and we are unable to field a trainer who could be posted to the school over a long term. Noting your desire to come to Japan to live and work, I am pleased to offer this position to you."

It was exactly the kind of break he was looking for. Kyle was over the moon.

He accepted without hesitation, and over the span of the next few days he packed his belongings, sold or gave away whatever else he would not carry, converted all the money he had into Japanese Yen, made a big scene of his resignation at his workplace, bid farewell to his housemates, and hopped onto a sponsored flight bound for Tokyo.

"... Once again, we thank you for flying with ANA." The plane captain concluded his announcement.

Kyle was welling up with excitement. He could hardly wait for the plane to touch down.

Upon landing he retrieved his worldly possessions from the baggage conveyor belt, clothes and assorted essentials packed inside a beaten rucksack, and emerged out of the transit area. Waiting for him on the other side and holding a placard bearing his name was a striking young lady with short straight black hair, wearing a olive green military office uniform.

"Good morning! You must be Chono-san," Kyle greeted in Japanese, bowing. "Please call me Kai. It's nice to meet you."

Chono Ami smiled cheerily and bowed back. "Good morning! Nice to meet you too. My, your enunciation sounds even more refined in person. You'd fit perfectly in here for sure." She handed Kyle her business card, who took it respectfully with both hands and studied customarily. He came to see that she was a captain in the Japan Self-Defence Force.

"There is a taxi waiting for us outside, so let's get going." Ami began to walk and motioned for Kyle to follow.

As they strode side by side down the arrival hall of Haneda Airport, Kyle observed her surreptitiously. She was remarkably attractive, with excellent makeup sense and a shapely figure that showed through her form-fitting clothing. He could not help but be taken in by such beauty, just as with any other pretty lass he comes across. _They said Japan was the land of all things beautiful,_ Kyle thought. _Whoever they are, they're certainly right._

"So how was your flight, Kai-kun?" She asked.

"Superb. The food was great, I slept like a log, and now I'm ready for a brand new day. Japanese airlines are truly amazing, miles better than the ones back home," Kyle answered honestly. He admired the Japanese greatly for their perfectionistic drive and cordiality.

"I'm glad to hear that. Let's hope you can say the same about our Senshado," Ami quipped. They both laughed.

"I must really thank you for accepting this position at such short notice, though," She added. "Things would have been slightly troublesome otherwise."

"Not at all, in fact I should be the one thanking you guys. I can't express in words just how glad I am to be given a chance to do this. It's everything I could ever dream of, being able to pursue my passion once more when I thought it was all over. I am very grateful."

The two of them passed a pair of automatic sliding doors and exited the air-conditioned embrace of the indoors to face the warm dry atmosphere outside. They piled into their reserved transport, which began making its way to the JGSDF Headquarters in Shinjuku where Kyle was to complete the registration process.

As he gazed out the car window, all he could see were streets, buildings and people of an unfamiliar land. He was now truly away from home, in a country he had longed so much to see. He allowed this thrilling realization to creep up on him, bringing together with it feelings of uncertainty, elation and incredulity.

Japan was his home now. A new chapter in life had begun.

* * *

At the headquarters, Kyle made some introductions, attended a few briefings regarding terms and regulations, settled additional administrative matters, signed the contract, and in less than two hours was promptly given the position of assistant tank instructor and bestowed the honorary rank of 2nd lieutenant. There was a small welcome party afterwards where he interacted with a few other officers, who inquired and spoke on a variety of topics like his combat experiences, favoured tank models and doctrines, and his fluency in Japanese. Everybody seemed absorbed by his presence, and he felt extremely welcome.

Presently he was conversing with Ami once more.

"Unfortunately, due to the nature of your work you will be hardly seeing these other colleagues, if at all. You will be corresponding mainly with me, your direct superior," she explained.

"Yes, ma'am." Kyle nodded. Ami seemed like a pleasant enough person, and she was pretty hot to boot. He had no qualms working with someone like her.

He did, however, have other uncertainties in his mind.

"If I may clarify something, though... Senshado... It's a sport practised only by women, right?"

"I'm impressed. How did you know?"

"A former teammate of mine in university used to do it in high school. She's Japanese."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, and if she weren't playing for the National League right now I believe she would have been in my place."

"A Hanley U alumnus, currently in the NGL, with a Senshado background..."

"Yes, she's the one you're probably thinking about. There's only one person who fits that description."

"Indeed. She's very famous over here, you know."

"As I'd expect."

"And you were teammates with her?"

"She was my TC."

Ami was intrigued. "I see... My, how very interesting. And you're somehow upset that things turned out this way? That she isn't here, or that you aren't there?"

"No! Heavens, no. I'm so glad to be here. Immensely happy. I'm just saying... I'm a guy."

"And so? Does that change anything? Tanks are not public toilets, are they?"

"No... That's not what I mean. Rather, aren't things done differently around here? Are you all really okay with having an outsider like me?"

Ami paused considerably before answering.

"I think the male-female issue should be the last thing you should be concerning yourself with right now, Kai-kun. At the end of the day, tanks don't discriminate. Everyone carries rounds, squeezes triggers, steps on pedals the same way, guys and girls alike. Gunnery, Senshado, Panzerfahren, they're all the same at the fundamental level. What you already know, you can convey directly to your students. What you don't, you'll pick up very quickly I imagine."

She suddenly grinned impishly. "Instead, quite the opposite, you ought to be happy right now that you're a guy."

Kyle was ecstatic, honestly, but he strove not to show it.

"My responsibilities as an instructor come first, ma'am."

Ami narrowed her eyes blithely. " _First_ , you say."

Here was somebody who clearly knew how to target the weak spots of a tank. Kyle kept up his businesslike disposition and changed topic.

"That aside, I can't help but be amazed at just how fast everything's happened over the past few days," He said. "Not one week ago I was still in Pittsburgh, living a dull day to day kind of life, and before I knew it all of a sudden here I am in Tokyo, enlisting in the Japanese army, about to take on the job of a lifetime. I normally assumed that things like these involved a lot of waiting and red tape, and I was also prepared for a much more elaborate initiation process, but everything seemed to just flash by so rapidly. Not that I'm complaining or anything, but it always like this when bringing in foreign instructors?"

Ami's smile softened into a serene one. "I for one firmly believe that expedited processes is the Blitzkrieg of the modern world. Strive for excellence through speed! Smash past all obstacles to snatch the objective! That's my way of doing things, and that's exactly how I roll with Senshado as well."

She thrust a thumbs-up gesture at Kyle.

"Also, you're actually our first and only foreign instructor. The Senshado Strengthening Committee, which I am a part of, has always been making plans for the future of Senshado going forward. Desiring a greater presence in the international stage and deeming our traditional techniques exiguous over the long run, we felt it was a good idea to introduce overseas talents to groom the local community so as to sharpen our competitive edge. There was, however, one aspect that posed a huge obstacle in this venture: the language barrier. It was startlingly difficult to find anybody who met our three main criteria: that they have tank combat experience, that they are not already engaged in something else, and most importantly that they could speak adequate Japanese. This was what mattered more to us, you see. You could imagine our elation when we discovered you through your JET application. At this juncture, the fact that you are a male is trifling in comparison."

Kyle raised his eyebrows. What she said made plenty of sense, but the notion that he was the very first _gaijin_ in the system was news to him. Not making it into the NGL had turned out to be a blessing in disguise. This was an incredibly rare opportunity for someone like him.

"That's amazing, I never saw things that way," He said. "Guess I really struck the lottery, huh?"

"We both did. We had actually been keeping tabs on you since some time back, but we never truly found a way to commence this programme that had been on the drawing board for ages, until the day the request from that high school was forwarded to me. I called you immediately. The initial intention was to have me become their stay-in instructor, but I saw an opening and arranged for you to be inserted in my stead, thereby kickstarting the proceedings. This was in effect to create as little complication as possible within the executive committee."

The captain cast a furtive eye around and lowered her voice as she added, "not everybody was on board with the whole deal, I should inform you. This was how I managed to break through the opposition for the most part."

She reverted to a normal tone again. "Anyway, we hope to be able to learn as much as we can through your experiences and pave the way for more foreign instructors to come in the future, so let's both work hard." Glancing at her watch, she added, "Speaking of which, things aren't slowing down for you just yet. We have a schedule to keep, and the school is expecting our arrival in a while. Gather your things, it's time to head to your actual workplace: Oarai Girl's Academy. You'll be staying there during your tenure, so we shall settle accommodation matters once we arrive. You're also supposed to be issued a uniform but I'll have to get that delivered to you instead within the next couple of days."

 _Already?_ Kyle thought. _Man, I really gotta get with the rhythm_. He steeled himself for what was to come. Here he was, about to set off to yet another alien location in Japan, in which he will work and dwell for the foreseeable future.

"Understood. Where exactly is it?"

Ami referred to something on her PDA and began reading aloud a set of geographic coordinates. Kyle did not understand.

"It's out in the middle of the ocean," she clarified.

For a moment Kyle thought his Japanese abilities were failing him.

"Ocean?"

"Yes, likely doing anywhere between 5 to 20 knots."

It provided no elucidation. _A school in the middle of the ocean? Some kind of remote island? How is it moving then?_

His mind flooded with a dozen questions, but one in particular came to the forefront.

"How are we going there?"

Ami made a face as though he had just asked her what colour the sky was.

"In a tank, of course."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading my story. This is an alternative take to the Girls und Panzer main storyline, where a past event took place differently from the original story, and as a result Miho remained a student in Kuromorine Girl's High School. I thought this would be an interesting angle to explore that would change the story drastically, and more importantly my objective was to cast a greater share of limelight to the other secondary characters in the series. Everybody deserves a chance to shine, and as for Miho, while she hasn't been written off entirely, she's simply in a different place now. (Beside Maho, just how I like it.)**

 **The decision to introduce a male original character in this story was based on the scene in episode 2 where Anzu tricked Saori into thinking that the instructor was a guy. What if that part was true, I wondered? That would cause quite the upheaval in the Senshado community. I'm aware that this isn't a new concept, though. There are numerous stories in here doing the same thing, and I know many readers have probably gotten bored of it, if not outright detest it. That's why I'm especially glad you decided to give it a try. This one is going to shape up a little differently, and I will be grateful to have your patience.** **I will work hard not to disappoint.**

 **My perfectionist nature dictates that I make small revisions to earlier chapters every now and then. Just small minor ones, nothing that would break the story. I apologize for that. If you're new here, I welcome you warmly and I hope you enjoy your reading experience. If you're back here because I've only just updated after a really long time and you've forgotten what the story was all about, enjoy the improvements to the previous editions. I'll be revising published chapters less and less the longer the story drags on, so don't worry about having to constantly start from chapter one every single time to catch all the changes.**


	2. Chapter 2

In front of one of the collossal doors to Oarai Girl's Academy's tank garage, twenty students stood in a row, waiting. They were the members of the newly formed Oarai Senshado club, who just the day before had worked to exhaustion cleaning their vehicles, most of which were not inside the garage to begin with and all of which were in awful states of disuse. There was hardly a cloud in the sky as the afternoon sun beat down on them.

"The instructor is late!" Takebe Saori whined. "Keeping you in suspense is just how the adults do it, huh?"

Just then, a Kawasaki transport aircraft emerged into view, its arrival portended by the thunderous roar of its jet engines. Its cargo hatch opened and out from it dropped a Japanese Type 10 MBT in a LAPES pallet. The modern armour landed with a massive thud and skidded across its makeshift drop zone, the school's parking lot.

It bumped hard against a stationary red Ferrari as it came to a stop, upending the luxury sports vehicle.

"The principal's car!" Exclaimed Yuzu.

"Ooh, waste it!" Anzu cooed.

Sure enough, as the tank reversed out of the pallet it crushed the car beneath its treads. Anzu whistled.

"Squashed," Momo deadpanned.

The Type 10 rumbled over and halted right in front the girls. Springing up from the commander's hatch was Ami. She removed her helmet and smiled at them. Everybody was rooted to the spot, shocked and awed.

"Good afternoon!" the captain called out to them. Towards the turret's interior she then whispered, "Come on, quit bumbling about! Let's go greet the students!"

She dismounted and began to make her way to the garage compound. Behind her, Kyle clambered out unsteadily, nauseated by their violent entrance. The falling sensation was a nasty surprise that shook him up.

 _This kind of Blitzkrieg is insane!_ He silently groused. _I had just been dropped out of a perfectly good airplane, inside a hunk of steel no less! I'll be forgiven if I need a moment to catch my breath!_

He shook his head to clear the disorientation. Right from the very beginning with Ami it had been a string of unusual methods and circumstances, but he knew this was something he had to get used to and he was not about to complain. He threw down his helmet, leaped off the tank and ran to catch up with his boss.

Ami and Kyle stood facing the girls, who were assembled on the yard. The three girls of the student council team positioned themselves abreast. There was a stark contrast in appearance between the two officers. Ami looked smart and proper in her uniform while Kyle was more informal, wearing a brown bomber jacket stenciled with his alma mater's crest, a dark green shirt, wrinkled jeans and scuffed army boots. He had however managed to take some time to freshen up prior to the enlistment proceedings at the JGSDF Headquarters, so he at least kept a modicum of grooming.

Having recovered from his prior daze, Kyle was trying his utmost not to reveal his exuberance at the fact that standing before him right then were cute schoolgirls in cute sailor uniforms that had cute short skirts.

 _Actual Japanese schoolgirls, right before my very eyes! It's just like on the Internet!_

Saori could hardly contain her elation as well.

"He's really here!" She tittered. "He looks so cool!"

Not all the others shared the same sentiment. They stared at him with curious, uncertain eyes.

"The lady looks like a wonderful person too." Isuzu Hana commented.

One of the student council members standing beside the officers, Kawashima Momo, spoke up. "This is our special instructor, Captain Chono Ami of the Tank Training Group. And this is, uh..."

"He's my assistant, and the stay-in instructor attached to this school," Ami declared. She motioned for Kyle to take over.

"Pleased to meet you, my name is Kyle, surname Lin. You may call me Kai. I come from America. From today onwards I will be stationed here to help hone your skills in Senshado. I look forward to working hand-in-hand with you all as we strive together for success. Please treat me favourably."

He concluded by bowing politely. This elicited a chatter of fascination and astonishment from the girls, who made an assortment of remarks to each other, like how they initially thought he was Japanese, or how fluently he spoke for a foreigner, but mainly how their instructor was actually a guy.

"I've heard that all of you are new to Senshado, so let's work extra hard, okay?" Ami said. "Does anybody have any questions before we proceed with today's session?"

Utsugi Yuki raised her hand. "Does that mean that men do practice Senshado after all, in other places like America?"

Kyle pondered for a brief moment. Here was the golden question. What he had learnt from his superior, he now had to teach his auxiliaries.

"Well.. I think it's played in many places around the world, but back home it's called gunnery, not Senshado," he answered. "And from what I understand, gunnery is different mainly in rules, plus the fact that it's played by both sexes, with more men than women. Don't worry though, many of the things I can teach are skills that are fundamental to Senshado. Despite the differences, both of them are essentially just tank combat."

There was a collective "Oh..." from the students.

Another hand sprung up from the back of the group. It belonged to the ever-eager Akiyama Yukari.

"Instructor, what are we practicising today?"

"Good question! Let's simulate an actual battle right away," Ami declared.

Everybody gasped in surprise, Kyle as well.

"Um, so soon?" Yuzu asked.

"It'll be fine! It's all about the real thing!" Ami beamed confidently. "Just roll out like 'BANG!', drive around like 'WHOOSH!', and shoot at your enemies like 'BOOM!'"

She unfurled a map of a forested region with a river running across it. Overlaid were red lines indicating pathways and grey dots representing tanks. "Alright now, please head over to your starting points."

As the girls split up and went to their vehicles, Kyle stared at his superior and imagined German Panzer divisions storming down the rolling grasslands of Poland in 1939. Here was a lady whose every action and direction aligned with her principles, and the poor students had just been chucked into the deep end in the wake of her lightning tactics.

 _Isn't this all a little too hasty? I thought were we going to at the very least teach them how to even take on their roles._

"Come, everyone mount up!" Ami called out at the girls. "Decide on your roles for each team. Teams with three people have a commander, a gunner and a driver. The fourth person is a loader, and with five there's a radio operator."

She felt Kyle's gaze behind her and returned it. "Will they be all right?" He asked.

"They're smart girls, they'll figure out a way somehow," she replied easily.

Kyle glanced over, and sure enough, the confused and disconcerted faces he expected to find were nowhere to be seen. Everybody seemed calm and collected, studying primers briskly and having discussions among one another.

He could not help but be impressed.

"I will be observing them from that watchtower over there," Ami said. "What will you do?"

"Huh? Shouldn't I be there with you too?"

"You don't have to shadow me all the time. You're going to be seeing them a lot more than I will so you need to employ your own teaching style. There's no point having an instructor with a foreign background if he's just going to follow the same path. I leave it up to you."

Kyle looked at the students once more. Some of them were already beginning to mount up.

It struck him right then that he was looking upon the tanks that this Oarai school fielded for the very first time. He immediately became aware of their small number and peculiar assortment. There were only five in total: An early version PzKpfw IV medium tank carrying a short-barreled anti-infantry howitzer, a StuG III assault gun, probably ausf. F or G, an M3 Lee medium tank of the rivet-construction variant, bearing the stubby M2 cannon on its right sponson, a Pz. 38(t) ausf. B/C light tank armed with a 3.7cm gun, and... One more tank which he had never seen in his life. Its stocky appearance reminded him of the famous Renault FT, meaning this was likely a considerably ancient model. It made sense that he would have never encountered this one before as it was unlikely that any gunnery team back home would deploy such a relic. He wanted to say it was a Japanese make but he could not be too sure.

He frowned. The picture he initially had in his mind was one of grandness and uniformity, much like the cohorts of Tigers and Pershings in Hanley University. The reality appeared to be that this was a rather destitute school who decided to relaunch their Senshado programme on hand-me-downs. With the exception of the FT lookalike, these tanks were typically the kind fielded by junior league teams in high schools, and while the StuG and Pz. IV might see scarce collegiate gunnery action here and there, the latter would normally be fitted with a gun more suited to armour defeating.

In other words, the quintet assembled here were all second-rate.

 _Nevertheless, a job is a job, and I need to give my all no matter what,_ Kyle thought. _These girls are probably only doing Senshado out of interest and recreation. This isn't like Hanley where it's all about gunning for gold, right? I suppose I can let my hair down and help make the experience fun._

Presently he noticed that over at the Pz. IV there stood only three girls, talking among themselves.

He frowned. _That tank needs a 5-man crew. Having only three people would be pushing the envelope a little._

Just then he lit up with a brilliant idea. Being a hands-on learner, he figured that he could do well as a hands-on teacher. This battle simulation class would give him a good chance to teach using live demonstration. He would get down and dirty with them, and show them how things were done at the same time.

 _The cherry on top, of course, is the opportunity to cosy up with a bunch of young and pretty girls in the cramped interior of a tank._

"Chono-san, the Pz. IV over there appears to be understaffed. I'm going to join them and help them out," he said.

"A fantastic idea!" Ami replied. "If your style is to give guidance in close supervision then go for it, you have my permission."

At that instant her eyes narrowed slyly at him once more. "The added kinship from being in the same team would be very good for forging student-teacher relationships too, wouldn't you think?"

That statement was either a warning or an encouragement. Kyle could not tell which.

"Just doing my job, ma'am."

Ami simpered and waved him off. Kyle ran out to collect his helmet, then strode over towards the Pz. IV and upped the charm as best he could.

"Hey there!"

The trio of girls turned to look at him. The one with orange hair instantly became flustered.

"Ohmygoshohmygosh he's headed this way what should I doooo?!" Saori yelped. Hana tried to calm her best friend down.

"Good day, Instructor Rin!" Yukari came to attention and threw up a salute. "It is an honour to be under your charge!"

Kyle was surprised at the solemnity but quickly remembered that as a supposed commissioned officer he was obliged to return the gesture.

"At ease," he said, saluting back. "No need to get ceremonial with me. Let's all be friends. And drop the 'instructor' bit, please just call me Kai. Is everything all right here?"

Hana spoke up. "Thank you for your concern. At the moment we are consulting the operation manual, so we expect to be all right." She was holding a textbook entitled 'PzIV fibel' in her hands. "However, any teaching you should care to bestow will be deeply appreciated."

Kyle noted that this girl spoke with great politeness. He quickly surmised from the way she composed herself that it was likely a habit borne from upbringing.

"Of course, I'd be happy to. Actually, I saw that you girls seem to be a little shorthanded, so I thought I'd show you girls the ropes while at the same time help crew the tank, just for today. That okay?"

"Ehhh, really?!" The three of them exclaimed.

"Y-yeah, if it's okay with you..."

"We are indebted to you!" Yukari cheered jubilantly.

"It would be a great help," Hana agreed, smiling.

"P-p-please treat us well!" Saori stammered, bowing deeply and trying to compose herself.

Kyle grinned. _All right, this is going well!_ "By the way, your names..."

"Ah, that's right! Akiyama Yukari, at your command!"

"My name is Isuzu Hana. It is a pleasure to make your acquiantance."

"I'm Ta-Takebe Saori. Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you all too."

Kyle shifted his gaze to the German medium tank beside them. "Well then, first things first, we need to sort out your positions."

"You'll be the tank commander, won't you, Rin-dono?" Asked Yukari expectantly.

This gave Kyle some pause. In all his years of gunnery he had rarely taken on the TC role, though he knew enough about the responsibilities it entailed. It was not his first choice, but he reasoned that being the commander would put him in a better position to supervise everybody else at once.

"Yeah, I suppose I will." He said finally. "All right, who would like to be the driver?"

The three girls looked at each other, unsure. Eventually Saori spoke up. "Yukarin, you really like tanks, don't you? Why don't you give it a try?"

"I-is it really okay if I do?" Yukari said bashfully in an attempt to act modest, when she clearly seemed like she was dying to volunteer.

"Yes, I too believe Yukari-san will do well at it," Hana encouraged.

"If you guys put it that way... Then I humbly accept the position of driver!" Yukari proclaimed eagerly.

"Excellent. Now we need someone who's good with their hands to be the loader."

Hana and Saori exchanged glances. "I suppose that would refer to me," Hana said. "I will do it."

Kyle took out a pair of leather gloves from his jacket pocket and passed them to Hana, telling her to put them on. They were well-used during his time though several sizes too large for her, but they would have to do for the time being to protect her hands.

"Great! That leaves the gunner position to you then, Saori-san," He stated. Saori cast her eyes downward and nodded shyly, startled at the fact that she was already on a first-name basis with him.

The four of them climbed into the Pz. IV and took their positions. Kyle eased himself down the cupola hatch as the girls went through their respective doors.

"It smells so much of metal," Hana remarked.

"It's kind of cramped and stifling too," Saori began, but then she remembered the instructor sitting to her right. "Ahh, I mean, it feels pretty sturdy!" She corrected hastily.

Kyle recognized the odour of iron oxide. He surmised that this was a tank that had only very recently been dusted off for use after an extended period of negligence. At least the floors and walls looked clean, and the ammunition had been stowed away neatly. He was more worried that the engine might not be in similar shape.

"It's fine, Saori-san. I know how you feel. Since it's like this, while we're not in combat let's open up the hatches to clear out the smell and get some cool air in. You can even stick your head out if you need to escape from the claustrophobic feeling."

"Now then, all units: Panzer vor!" Ami's voice interjected from the radio.

Yukari got fired up. "Eheheh, we're finally going to move the tank!"

"I suppose so," Kyle concurred. He crouched beneath the main gun breech and put his head through to have a better look over Yukari's shoulder. "Go ahead and push on the ignition button there."

Yukari did as told and the engine grunted to life. Thick smoke spewed from the exhaust and the entire vehicle shivered.

Kyle sighed with relief. _It's alive!_

Yukari's delight, however, was more heavily pronounced. "YA-HO! THIS IS AWESOME!" She yelled, throwing her fists in the air.

Behind her in the turret the other girls looked on, stunned.

"Her character just changed," muttered Saori.

Kyle was amused. _She's a real tank nut, this one._ _But at least she's enjoying herself._

Yukari quickly felt the embarrassment. "Ahh, excuse me," she whimpered.

"No worries. Now look before you. There are two steering tillers in front for both tracks, the stick shift to your right, as well as the handbrake. Further down, three pedals, gas, brake and clutch, from right to left. Step on the clutch and shift into first gear... Well done. Okay, grab hold of the tillers, step gently on the accelerator then push both of them forward."

The tank moved forward and cleared the garage doors, trundling across the yard.

"The sound is clamorous," Hana commented.

"I can feel it shaking my backsi-," Saori moaned, but quickly silenced herself.

"That's what makes it so great!" protested Yukari, giddy with excitement. Kyle could not help but agree. It had been quite some time since his last tank ride. He was flooded with feelings of nostalgia.

Slowly but surely, the Pz. IV made its way through a forested trail to its designated starting point. Kyle provided navigation by tapping his foot lightly against Yukari's shoulders.

* * *

The Pz. IV had halted at their destination, its engine idling. Yukari, spritely and full of energy, was looking everywhere around the crew compartment ooh-ing and ahh-ing at everything. Hana and Saori meanwhile were listening intently to Kyle as he dispensed instruction.

"... And that's about it regarding the loader. Now for the gunner, the first thing you need to know is-"

"Looks like you're all at your designated starting points," Ami spoke through the comms at that instant, interrupting Kyle's discourse. "The rules are simple: immobilize all other tanks. Basically, advance with gusto, fire with aplomb, and take them out!

"... Is what I want to say, but it would seem that one team in particular has a somewhat unfair advantage."

A hint of guile oozed from her inflection. Kyle felt uneasy.

"Therefore, things are going to change a little. You will now be divided into two opposing groups. Group One: Team A. Group Two: everybody else."

The girls in the Pz. IV blanched in unison. Kyle looked around at their pale faces.

"Team A... Is us, right?"

"... Yes..." Hana uttered.

"The team that manages to deal the incapacitating blow on the Pz. IV will get treated by the assistant instructor to delicious dessert of any kind desired," Ami continued. Her cool voice betrayed a sliver of savage humour. Kyle could tell she was grinning as she spoke. "So, Kai-kun, you'll do your best too, okay?"

He inhaled deeply. _So that's how it's gonna be, huh?_

 _Some turn of events this is_. Kyle was intending to take it slow and easy, to supervise his crewmates carefully and deliberately, and at the same time get to know each of them better through idle conversation. There was no chance to do that now.

"Roger that. I'll take it where I stand!" He called back.

 _Ah, well. I've got all the time in the world ahead of me to get to know to these girls anyway. It can wait._

"That's the spirit! Very good. Now, Senshado always begins and ends with a respectful bow. Everyone, bow!"

"Let's have a good match!" Inside every tank, the crews paid their regards.

"With that, let the battle begin!"

Saori looked at Kyle, clearly distressed. "This is kinda unfair, will we be okay?"

He smiled reassuringly. "We'll be okay, don't worry. With me on your side, this is actually a fair fight. The rest of them are beginners, after all. Just follow my instructions and everything will turn out fine."

"O-okay..."

"Yukari-san, sorry to have to do this all of a sudden, but I need you to swap places with me."

"Eh? Uh, right." Yukari was slightly disappointed that she was not going to drive the tank anymore, but nonetheless she moved to the commander's post obediently while Kyle hustled forwards into the driver's compartment. Settling down in the driver's seat, he instantly felt at home and in his element. There was no way he could lose like this. Driving, after all, was his forte.

There was no animosity towards his superior whatsoever. Instead he imagined legions of Nazi tanks rushing through the hills and headlands of Smolensk, crossing the Dnieper River. He knew the captain was testing him, putting him through his paces. He had to prove not just to her, but to all the students as well, that he was the right person for the job.

Being the one thorn among the roses also called his male pride to the line. He let a surge of calm bravado wash over him.

 _This shall be my Russian Winter, then._

"We're going to take all the others down together, and then I'm going to buy as many ice creams or cream puffs or whatever as you all want," he vowed, putting his helmet on. "Close the hatches and button up. Let's do this!"

"Alright!" The girls whooped.

"Yukari-san, you're the commander now," Kyle said. "Give the order!"

Yukari radiated sheer ecstasy. She had yearned to do this for the longest time.

"Yes!" She cried. "Forward advance! Panzer vor!"

* * *

 **A/N: Hello again. Thank you for reading chapter two of GuP:A.**

 **The thing about dialogue, especially when it comes to lines lifted directly from the anime, is that I like to render them in exactly the same nuance that they were delivered in Japanese. I soon realized that while this system worked very well with subtitles, the same could not be said with proper prose form. I had to work hard to find a balance that retained readability while adding immersion. I hope it turned out all right.**

 **Kyle is a bit of a pervert, but then again I imagine most guys are to some extent. Like a normal person, he does know where to draw the line though. I currently don't have any plans to advance a serious romantic plot, but if enough opinions encouraging the opposite pour in I shall reconsider.**

 **See you in the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

Kyle stomped on the gas. The Pz. IV sprung to life and lumbered down the forest trail before it.

"The strategy is simple: we're going to try to deal with them one by one," he explained to his teammates, eyes peeled to his forward visor. "We find one, engage, eliminate, then move on. Don't let them outnumber us at any time. Yukari-san, please help with keeping an eye on our surroundings and calling out any tanks you see. Hana-san, do your best to load the gun as fast as possible. Saori-san, I'm relying on you to strike our targets down. On my part, I'll try to gain some advantageous positioning and evade their shots as much as I can."

The trail they were on split in a fork. A few dozen metres down the left bend, Kyle spotted a flash of black among the greens and browns.

"It's the StuG, 11 o' clock!" Yukari exclaimed, peering through the cupola's front viewport.

Sure enough, there the assault gun stood, staring straight at them. Kyle grimaced. The match had only just started and they already were in the worst possible matchup in the worst possible displacement. He braked and immediately began evasive measures, but before he could shift gears the StuG let loose.

 **BOOM!**

A loud bang issued from its cannon. The projectile missed and dug into the dirt to the Pz. IV's right with an intense crash. Saori flinched audibly; Hana and Yukari reeled as well. Kyle, used to the sound and wearing his helmet, was unaffected.

Rather, he felt relieved. That missed shot was a crucial opportunity to retake the advantage. His gunnery instincts were coming back to him, and he saw the chance to counterattack.

Calm down, we didn't get hit," he said. "We have one in the breech so the ball is in our court now, let's take them while they're reloading. You have some time to aim, Saori-san, go for it."

"O-okay." Saori recovered unsteadily. Her hands trembled as she fumbled with the controls. The electric traverse hummed as the turret came to bear.

Three seconds passed.

"Uhh... How do I know if the gun is pointing correctly?" Saori asked.

"look through the viewfinder, the scope that's in front of you," Kyle answered patiently. He realized that he had not briefed her properly on her role, having been cut off earlier by the match commencing. "There's a little shape in the middle that indicates where the shell will fly, try to put that onto the enemy."

"There's something like little triangles..."

"Yeah, that's the one. Focus on the triangle in the middle."

Several more quiet moments went by. Saori had her forehead pressed against the headrest of the viewfinder, her face scrunched up in concentration.

"Okay... U-umm, it's too high now, how do I..."

"There is a vertical crank which controls gun elevation, use that to shift the gun up and down."

Kyle's composure was slowly ebbing away but he did his best not to show it. Saori was taking considerably long to service the target. Each moment spent waiting was a moment allowed for the opponent to finish its load cycle and prepare its next shot.

"This is the range dial for the scope, try to use it to fine tune your aim," Yukari offered.

At this rate, the StuG was going to have the quicker draw. Yet Kyle could not bring himself to rush Saori lest he pile more stress on what she was already going through. _She's new and needs time to learn. I can do nothing but pray she gets a fix on the target soon._

Saori currently had the range and elevation correct, but she constantly oscillated the traverse back and forth as she repeatedly overshot the turn. She was shaken, but determined to try to make a good first impression by not missing.

"If you're having trouble with the electric traverse you can try the manual handcrank for better fine-tune control," Yukari suggested.

Kyle bit his lip, fidgeting. He found himself absentmindedly tapping his heel against the hull floor and stopped hastily. Every fibre of his being was screaming at him to displace from this vulnerable position. It felt like an eternity that the Pz. IV was presenting itself wide open.

"I've got it!" Saori cried. "Fir-"

 **CLANG!**

A terrific jangle reverberated abruptly throughout the crew compartment. The girls yelped and recoiled once more, shielding their ears. Saori moaned, her concentration completely shattered.

Kyle understood the sound to represent a non-penetrating shot in the rear. "Easy now, we're fine. Yukari-san, what was that?"

Yukari popped the commander's hatch open and lifted her head out to look. "It's the Type 89, 4 o' clock!" She yelped. "We're being flanked, let's get out of here!"

Kyle obeyed without hesitation. He depressed the gas pedal and jerked the tillers forward. In front of them, the StuG fired. Its round whizzed squarely through the space occupied by the Pz. IV mere moments before and kicked up another clod of earth.

The Pz. IV slipped down the right fork, away from the other two tanks. Kyle racked his brain trying to figure out what to do next. He imagined various scenarios and their corresponding responses. _For now, the best move is to disengage. I need to create space and retake the initiative._

So deep in thought was he that he momentarily diverted focus away from the path ahead, driving on autopilot. Formulating strategies on the go was not his thing, and doing so in the midst of driving a tank was an even greater challenge.

"Look out!" Yukari's cry made him snap back to attention.

A short distance away in front was a small figure lying face-up on the grass. She was wearing the familiar white and green school uniform of Oarai, and had a book splayed over her head.

 _What's a student doing here?!_

Kyle swerved the tank to the right as he put on the brakes. The Pz. IV pulled up to the side of the girl, who was rising sleepily to her feet and removing the book from her face. He pushed the driver's hatch open and levered his seat up to the unbuttoned position to get a better look at the strange lass. She stared back with sleepy but curious eyes, her long black hair swaying in the wind.

"You shouldn't be here Miss, we're in the middle of a battle," Kyle called out to her.

"Oh? Mako-chan!"

Behind him, Saori was peering out from her hatch as well.

"Hey, Saori," the girl responded.

"You know each other?" Kyle asked, suprised.

"Yes, we're childhood friends," replied Saori. "What are you doing here? Classes are ongoing, you know!"

"I know," Mako deadpanned. Saori sighed.

 **BOOM!**

Another explosion rocked them from behind all of a sudden. Everybody balked, and Saori slipped back inside in a hurry.

"Whatever it is, it's dangerous out there so get in!" Kyle commanded urgently. Mako leaped onto the vehicle and wriggled her way into the gunner's hatch as the tank resumed motion.

"Urgh... I can't breathe..." Mako whined, settling down limply on Saori's lap.

"Are you okay?" Yukari asked, concerned.

"She has low blood pressure so she's bad with cramped spaces," Saori explained.

The Pz. IV drew up to a wide crevasse in the grassy terrain, joined on either side by a red steel rope bridge.

Another loud bang echoed from behind but no impact followed.

"I can't take it any more, what are we gonna do?!" Saori wailed.

Kyle glanced around, made up his mind, and started to coax the tank towards the near end of the bridge.

"There's nobody here right now so we're going to cross," he declared. Able to directly eyeball the tank's movements and with steel plates laid out on the wooden bridge for better weight distribution, he felt confident about navigating safely across before their pursuers could fire again.

The bridge heaved slightly as the Pz. IV began to cautiously advance on it. All they needed to do was get to the other side, then there would be ample distance to reengage. They would also then be at an advantage should the enemy dare to cross after them.

They were halfway across when Yukari spotted trouble.

"12 o' clock, there's the 38(t) and the M3!"

Kyle looked up and sure enough, two more tanks had rounded a bend and were coming into view on the far side. He halted, gritting his teeth. Having the enemy show up there at this juncture was the worst thing that could possibly occur now. The Lee's sponson gun was threatening enough to deter him from thinking about storming the bank.

All four opponents had now surrounded the Pz. IV in a most compromising position.

Kyle was hammering his right heel against the floor again. He was regretting the decision to cross. He had grossly underestimated the enemy and gotten complacent at the fact that he was the only one among everybody with actual combat experience, and thought he could outplay them all. He had forgotten that the rest of his crew were green as well, and that it was wrong to assume they could keep up. Now, thanks to his rashness, they were going to have to bear the brunt of a very shameful defeat.

Another shot from the StuG rocketed overhead, missing by a few hairs. The FT lookalike that Yukari referred to as the Type 89 was pelting the Pz. IV with machinegun fire from behind.

Kyle shook his head. _No time for negative thoughts._ _There's no place to go, we need to fight back. I'll have to swap out with Saori-_

 **BOOOOOM!**

A clamorous roar thundered right above his head without warning, followed by an intense shockwave. Kyle jumped in his seat. If not for his helmet, his eardrums would have been completely wrecked.

He looked towards the source of the din: the smoking howitzer barrel of his own tank.

 _No one gave any orders to shoot. Was that a misfire?_

Inside the turret, the four girls sat petrified, eyes wide with shock.

"Wow," Saori breathed.

"My ears are ringing," Yukari added.

"Somehow..." Hana had her arms wrapped around herself. "That felt good..."

Mako was speechless. Her hands were frozen on the gun controls, index finger still on the trigger.

"Reporting!" Ami's voice over the radio called everyone to attention. "Team D has been eliminated!"

Kyle fixed his view on the M3. It now sported a large black crater in the front near the drive shaft, thick smoke billowing from it. At the very top, a white flag that was not there before had materialized, apparently to confirm its defeat.

Kyle ducked under and gaped at Mako, amazed. "How did you do that?"

"I just learnt it," she replied. Across her lap, the Pz. IV fibel lay spread out.

"Just?!" Yukari spoke with disbelief.

"That's the top student for you!" cheered Saori.

Kyle felt his spirits rise anew. _We can do it after all!_

He sat up, shifted into gear and poured on the speed, sending the Pz. IV hurtling forwards.

"Mako-san, focus on the Pz. 38(t) next. The other one in front of us. Turn the turret to 270 degrees and wait for my command. Hana-san, please load the gun."

Hana hefted a round from the ammo rack and guided it into the breech with some difficulty.

"It's so heavy..." She remarked.

The Pz. IV covered the remaining distance on the bridge swiftly, to where the 38(t) awaited on the other end. The distance between the two tanks shrunk rapidly. Kyle gambled on being able to bounce the 38(t)'s shell off the front, but ultimately he need not have worried as even from less than ten metres away it fired and missed completely.

The Pz. IV rolled onto terra firma once more and came to a halt just inches to the right of its quarry.

"Loading complete."

"Fire!"

BOOM! The Pz. IV let out another shot. An empty cartidge flew out the breech, clanged against the backstop and dropped into the leather basket below; its corresponding projectile smashed squarely into the side of the 38(t)'s turret with a powerful blast. The light tank rocked from the impact, and a moment later sprouted its own white flag.

"Next one, the StuG! The flat-looking one! It's quite a distance away but try your best!"

Kyle positioned the Pz. IV such that the defeated Czechoslovakian tank stood between it and the German assault gun on the far bank. He used it as a makeshift cover while Hana serviced the gun. She was beginning to feel exhausted from handling the heavy ammunition, coughing from the gunpowder smoke clouding the fighting compartment. Yukari stretched an arm towards the roof to push the smoke vent open.

The next volley from the StuG failed to find its mark, connecting only with the downed 38(t).

"Reload complete," Hana informed breathlessly as she moved her hand away from the closing breech block.

The Pz. IV peeked out from its shelter to get a clear shot. Mako took a brief moment to lay down the sights, then let loose. With a mighty thud, her third shot found the front armour plate of the StuG near the driver's viewport. A second later, the StuG's white flag declared K.O.

"Just one more left!" Yukari shouted excitedly. "The Type 89 is crossing!"

"Gun forward!"

Kyle brought the hull around to stare directly down the bridge. Despite the apparent mismatch, the Japanese tank continued fighting valiantly as it advanced. A round from its main cannon went wide to the left. Kyle had to duck below the hatch to avoid its machinegun barrage.

Meanwhile, Hana struggled as she lifted another shell from the stowage rack. Her hand slipped and the round went tumbling noisily off the turntable floor and into the forward hull.

"I'm sorry!" She apologized.

"I'll get it!" Saori squeezed out of the gunner's seat and dived earnestly into the radio operator's area to retrieve the munition.

Kyle figured that she was yearning to have something to contribute so that she could redeem herself from earlier. He struck upon an idea. "Saori-san, stop right there."

"Huh, what is it?"

"Do you see that mechanism in front of you? The machine gun?"

Saori saw the bow-mounted MG34. "This one?"

"Yup. Let's save Hana-san a bit of work and use it to shoot the enemy. Their armour might be weak enough that you'd be able to deal a critical blow."

"Whaaat, really?"

"Rin-dono is right," Yukari pitched in. "The Type 89 is lightly armoured with a maximum thickness of 17mm in the front. That's pretty thin!"

Kyle squirmed over to kneel behind Saori. He took her right hand and guided it to the pistol grip of the gimbal mount. Saori squeaked unintentionally, surprised at the sudden physical contact. Her face flushed a bright beet red.

"This one is hand-aimed so you'll definitely have an easier time. There's a viewfinder right there, similar to the one for the main cannon. Fire in short bursts so that you won't lose accuracy."

Kyle took off his helmet and fitted it over Saori's head, cupping his hands over the ear mufflers so that she would be safe from the imminent noise. "Go get 'em!"

Amidst her shyness, Saori felt upbeat at his encouragement. There was no hesitation this time.

 **BRRRT! BRRT! BRRRRRRT!**

She clamped down on the trigger and held firm as the gun shuddered. The spent cartridges in the belt feed rattled as they fell into the catcher pouch.

A few metres in front, the Type 89 was peppered with a hail of small arms fire. It frantically displayed its own white flag in submission.

Saori pulled away from the viewfinder, mouth agape.

"I... I did it!" She blurted with astonishment. Kyle removed the helmet from her head and beamed.

"Yeah, you took them out! I knew you had it in you the whole time. Well done."

Saori swiveled about in her seat to look back at Kyle, full of gratitude and admiration.

Team B in the Type 89, Team C in the StuG III, Team D in the M3 Lee, and Team E in the 38(t), all tanks in Group Two have been immobilized," the radio proclaimed. "Thus, victory goes to Group One, Team A in the Pz. IV!"

"Eh, we won?" exclaimed Saori.

"It seems so," Hana replied, stunned.

"I think it's more correct to say all the other teams screwed up," Mako commented.

"We did it! And it's thanks to Rin-dono!" Yukari lunged at Kyle ecstatically, but stopped herself just in time before she did something embarrassing. Kyle diffused the awkwardness by offering her a high five, which she returned gratefully. _Totally wouldn't have minded a hug though,_ he thought as he handed out high fives to the other girls as well.

"Leave the disabled tanks as they are and return back here on foot," Ami ordered. "Recovery teams shall retrieve the damaged vehicles for repairs."

* * *

Under the brilliant glow of dusk, the Senshado girls of Oarai stood once more before their instructors in front of the garage.

"Everyone, good job, very nice!" Said Ami cheerfully. "You did excellently considering this was your first time! Especially you, Team A! Well done!"

Saori, Yukari and Hana were all smiles.

Ami looked at her junior. "Do you have any words for them?"

"Yeah, I guess I do," Kyle replied. He stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"I should start by saying, I am a battle-hardened tank operator with years of experience, but today, I felt, was a challenge. What I mean is, it was a challenge for you girls to have to go up against me." There was some light giggling.

"But you put up a good fight, and through teamwork and coordination you managed to get me in a pinch. That's pretty remarkable, though I must add that in that aspect you had help from me too." More chuckling.

"Nevertheless, I could feel the heated passion through your tank operation, and that's extremely important no matter if it's gunnery or Senshado. Even if your only motivation was free food." Everyone laughed heartily. ("Aww, and I really wanted it, too," Ono Aya complained.)

"On a more serious note, I am but only one guy, and in tank battles victory cannot be claimed by a single person alone. My crewmates in the Pz. IV did admirably in their individual capacities but also helped each other out, so I feel this was a well-deserved win for all of them. The rest of you should follow their example if you want to strive for victory.

"Overall, this has been a great first session, and I see a lot of promise in all of you. There's going to be marksmanship, movement and coordination training to hone your core skill sets, but I also think it'd be a good idea to have battle simulations like today every now and then to get accustomed to actual combat conditions. What do you all think?"

"That's a great idea," Erwin answered.

"Sounds like fun!" Yamago Ayumi chirped.

"Please join our team next time!" Sasaki Akebi pleaded. "We want to win, too!"

Kyle laughed. "All right, all right. To be fair to everybody, I'll shuffle through different teams each time, so that I can give close supervision to each and every one of you." _And so that I can get close to each and every one of you cuties too!_

The girls whooped.

"Lastly, I will be staying here together with you and will be seeing you very frequently, so I hope we can all become good friends. Camaraderie is an integral part of success as a group. Feel free to approach me if you need any help or are unsure with anything. I am just as new to this instructor role as you are new to this club activity, so let's all work hard together." Kyle grinned, and everyone grinned merrily back.

He turned towards the foursome who had fought alongside him in the Pz. IV. "Let me know once you girls have decided where to go to eat, okay?" He said. They nodded joyfully, except for Mako who looked confused.

"We made a bet," Saori told her. "If we won, Kai-san would treat us all to dessert. I'm thinking of going to Seventy Four for ice cream."

Mako's face lit up uncharacteristically. "I'm in," she asserted. Saori laughed uncertainly.

Ami spoke once more in conclusion. "From now on, you will be having practice every day. Please work closely with Kai and continue to improve your skills. I will drop by occasionally to oversee training, if you have any questions for me feel free to send an e-mail."

"Everyone, bow!" Momo commanded.

"Thank you for the lesson!" Every bowed. Ami saluted, and Kyle followed suit. With that, the girls retired for the day and began to disperse, except for the trio of girls who had been commandeering the Pz. 38(t) earlier.

"Kai-kun, these three are from the Oarai Girls' Academy student council." Ami explained. "They will settle your accommodation as well as any other remaining administrative matters."

"Student council president, Kadotani Anzu. Nice to meetcha."

"Student council vice-president, Koyama Yuzu. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Student council public relations head, Kawashima Momo. Also, captain of the Senshado team. It's a pleasure."

Kyle shook their hands in turn.

"We'll wait here while you collect your belongings," Yuzu offered.

Kyle nodded, and strode back towards the Type 10 with his boss.

"You did well today yourself," Ami spoke. "You were put in a tight situation but performed marvelously, and managed to make a good impression on both the girls and myself. I'm glad I made the decision to bring you in."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Her expression changed to one of seriousness. "Now, the Senshado Federation expects great things from you. We hope to be able to expand this foreign instructor programme in the future, but there are detractors who are opposed to this idea so the onus is on you to convince them otherwise. I know this is plenty to have on your plate, but I'm confident that you won't let us down. Put up a good show for all of us to see."

Kyle did indeed feel that it was a lot to handle. However, his gratefulness for a second chance to pursue a career with his beloved tanks gave him determination to rise up to the challenge.

"I'll do my best."

"The show is all yours from here on. I'll check in frequently from time to time, but everything else is now under your control. Conduct training however you see fit, and please do let me know if you encounter any difficulties. I'll do my best to help."

"Understood. Once again, thank you for everything thus far, Chono-san. See you again soon!"

Kyle obtained his backpack from inside the MBT and presented his boss a parting salute. He really hoped to be able to see her again soon. He did not mind the extra eye candy.

Farewells bidded, he jogged back to the tank sheds where the student council trio stood waiting.

"We secured some pretty prime real estate especially for you to stay in, Kai-chan," Anzu cooed, suddenly a lot more informal than before. "Look forward to it, yeah~"

"Sure." _Here's a real friendly one, eh_.

He followed close behind as the three girls led the way out of the school compound.

"Before we go there we're gonna celebrate the successful re-commencement of the Senshado club at my favourite joint," the student council president continued. "Do you like Japanese food, Kai-chan?"

"You bet. If it's Japanese food I'll eat anything." That was true, especially since he was incredibly hungry at the moment.

"Good~ As I thought, it's gotta be that place, eh?" Anzu asked Yuzu and Momo, who agreed readily.

The four of them walked off the dirt yard and made towards the school gate. Kyle had no idea what Anzu was referring to, but now that the Blitzkrieg since earlier this morning had finally ceased and things were starting to wind down, he had regained the luxury to ponder about more pertinent curiosities.

"Uh, I'd just like to clear something up with you girls real quick," he began. The girls turned to face him.

"Where exactly is this 'Oarai' place? Are we on some island far from the mainland? What prefecture is this?"

The girls looked at other, perplexed. "Did Instructor Chono not tell you?" Yuzu asked. Kyle shook his head in the negative.

"Umm... Oarai is a town in Ibaraki prefecture, and where our school is based from, but that is not where we are right now," the vice president clarified.

Momo pointed at a towering structure in the background. Cast against the bright orange sunset was what looked like the island of an aircraft carrier, except a hundred times bigger. There was a flagpole beside it, a radar assembly above the bridge, and numerous support cables trailing in every direction, all in the same massive scale.

"This place," Momo explained, "is a megastructure shaped like an aircraft carrier, built to house our school compound and a town of 30,000 people on the 'flight deck', with many more facilities contained below."

She touched her fingers to the rim of her monocle, adjusting it. "Simply put, we're on a ship. A schoolship to be exact."

"..."

Kyle had no words.

 _A school, a town of 30,000, hills and ravines and forests... All of this was on a gigantic ship this whole time?_

He had never heard of such a thing. His mind simply could not grasp the enormity of what must be a monumental feat of engineering.

From mammoth ships, to unorthodox practices, to high school girls driving tanks as a martial art, this country was certainly full of surprises.

Anzu grinned pridefully. She was enjoying his reaction.

"Welcome to Japan, Kai-chan."

* * *

 **A/N: Hello. Thank you for reading chapter 3 of GuP:A.**

 **As it turns out, this battle played out very much like how it did in the anime, with minor variations. I was inspired to put the Pz. IV girls in unfamiliar positions by the official Girls Und Panzer Film Projekt mobile app game. It's a game where you get to control a variety of GuP-featured tanks in turn-based battles, in both elimination and flag format. What's more, you can assign the girls, including those introduced in the movie and manga spinoffs, into any position in any tank. It's fully voice-acted and all the girls have different lines depending on which position they're in. Saori treats the loader position as a weight-loss regime, Darjeeling bemoans not being able to drink tea while driving, and Alisa will get mad at you if you assign her any position outside tank commander or radio operator. It's tons of fun, but unfortunately only available in Japanese.**

 **I'm still trying to get the hang of writing battle scenes. It's certainly a challenge. I lost count of how many times I had to make minor changes in grammar and vocabulary in an attempt to paint a clearer picture of what was going on, whilst trying to keep a steady pace so as not to bore the reader. Alas, I'm too much of a stickler. I ought to just let petty details lie as they are. Still, let me know how I can do better.**

 **The Type 89 getting done in by machinegun fire is a meme in this community, right? Right? I see it happening in so many other works that I read, I figured I might as well include it in my own too. Poor volleyball team. Heheh.**

 **See you in the next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

"In celebration of the Senshado team's revival, cheers!"

Anzu, Momo, Yuzu and Kyle clinked glasses of iced hojicha. The four of them were seated around a pair of square tables joined together in a restaurant called Cook Fan, which was said to specialize in Japanese pork cutlet. This was Anzu's favourite place to dine out. They were partaking in the restaurant's free flow of salad and dressing and making small talk while waiting for their dinner entrees to arrive.

Outside, the sun had already gone down, and all around them many other diners were having their evening meal. The venue was well lit, with the browns and yellows of the walls and furniture creating a warm cosy atmosphere. The air buzzed with ambient conversation and light background music.

"So, Kai-chan, how long have you been driving tanks?" Anzu, sitting across from Kyle, mumbled a question in between mouthfuls of chopped cabbage.

"I started in high school, so that would make it around seven to eight years by now," he replied. "Had the chance to try out a whole assortment of vehicles since that time. I've lost count of just how many."

"Wow," Yuzu remarked. "And you were a driver?"

"I was everything, really, depends on which point of time we're talking about. Well, everything except tank commander. I'm not good with big-picturing, strategizing, multitasking. I function better as someone who only needs to listen to orders, focus on a single task and carry it out well. That aside, I guess you could say I'm a jack of all trades."

"Ehh, isn't that something," Anzu cooed. Kyle could not tell if she was genuinely impressed or not. For president of the student council, she sure seemed very laid-back. Her usual voice was a phonetically jocular yet nonchalant drawl that would not distinguish if she was just playing down her feelings or if she really was emotionally detached from everything around her.

"So what kind of experiences did you have playing for your university?" Momo inquired stiffly.

Kyle leaned back in his seat. This was beginning to feel like a job interview, even though he had technically already landed the position. The girls were probably trying to get an idea of who this mysterious person the Senshado Federation had decided to send down to their aid really was. He certainly could not blame them for being wary of some _gaijin_ fellow suddenly becoming an instructor for a Japanese traditional art form practised exclusively by girls.

"I had a pretty interesting four years with Hanley. In the United States varsity league there isn't a lot of variety in tanks. It's always Pershings, Tigers, and Iosif Stalins for everybody because those are generally accepted to be the most potent stats-wise. This is coupled by the fact that schools seldom adopt their own unique styles of play. They tend to fall into a pattern of forever playing within certain specific doctrines called the 'meta', a set of established approaches and unwritten rules of engagement that apparently grant the greatest amount of success in any game. It's all monkey see monkey do, and victory usually goes to whoever can execute the current one most effectively. Thankfully, the meta typically shifts every season or so when one side discovers a method that can handily undo those previously established conventions of warfare. What usually follows after that is, of course, everybody else starts tacking on to it, and what was once an exciting new technique then itself turns into the prevailing meta, until it gets done in again by something else. Gunnery is boring like that. It actually gets a lot worse when you go one step higher to the national level. Most people are okay with that but I despise it greatly.

"Now, Hanley was one of those schools bent on always challenging the meta no matter what. I happened to be right at the heart of that very movement. Every gunnery team fields a lineup of Utility Teams that normally performs scouting duties in light tanks. In my previous school ours was dubbed the Special Teams, and our job was not only scouting, but using swiftness and unpredictability to outright disrupt enemy formations and carefully laid-down plans, creating openings for our allies to exploit and paving the way for the execution of a new conduct of battle. There was a little bit of planning involved but it was all generally done on the fly, relying equally on individual proficiency and group effort. Such was the general business of meta-breaking; we were the spark to every revolution. Most of our undertakings were based on gambling and guesswork though, and we didn't do well all of the time. There were some hits but also plenty of misses, so only a small number of tanks were counted on to come up with breakthroughs to defeat the meta, while majority of the other crews continued to play to it to keep up with everybody else."

The girls listened meticulously, nodding and back-channeling with oohs and ahhs every now and then. Kyle basked in the attention.

"I had a place in one of those Special Teams. I specialized as a driver, as Yuzu-san would be correct to say. I enjoyed a good number of successes, slightly more than failures, and I like to think a lot of that was thanks to my driving. We were always switching things up, employing ever-changing tactics to combat those that we've pioneered before, so I've had the opportunity to drive tanks of various models and countries. The Chaffee was my mainstay, but from the Crusader, BT-5, Locust, to experimental models like the MT-25, I'd usually drive tanks that nobody but Hanley would ever think of deploying, creating diversions and conducting hit-and-run raids. My forte was speed; you could put me in any fast-moving tank and I'd make magic with it. It was something easy for me to channel no matter the vehicle. That was probably what landed me a role in Special Teams to begin with. That and my goals being very much aligned with theirs.

"Truth is, I've had a lot of diversity since even before my college days. High schools tended to have a greater assortment of tanks that changed with availability as and when the vehicles were out of the machine shop. The average tanky would have sat in at least three different tanks during his high school lifetime, having tried out every role at least once. Among the ones you guys have, I've been inside the StuG, Pz. IV and LT vz. 38. Others would include the Soviet T-26 and T-34, the British Valentine, American Stuarts and Shermans, all of these were very common because of their cost and availability. Cheap to repair, and if repair was out of the question, cheap to replace."

"Ah, so you're familiar with our tank, then?" Spoke Yuzu. "Maybe you can teach Momo-chan here how to aim the gun properly."

"Don't call me Momo-chan!"

"Oho, you're quite a capable one now, aren't you, Kai-chan?" Anzu stated. "What with all that meta mumbo-jumbo. I like that, I like that a lot." She looked towards her subordinates. "I guess Instructor Chono really came through for us after all. Looks like we're going to be in good hands."

"Yes. I'm so relieved," Yuzu agreed.

"We hope that you will commit to performing to expectations, Rin-san," Momo said. "After all, we're aiming for the national high school Senshado championship tournament this year."

Just then, a waitress came over bringing in their orders. On the table in front of Kyle was Anzu's recommended dish, a _tonkatsu_ set meal. Miso soup, steaming white rice, some pickled vegetables, all surrounded the main attraction: a bed of succulent deep fried thickly sliced pork cutlet covered in panko breadcrumbs. It looked absolutely appetizing.

"Let's not wait any longer, shall we?" Said Anzu. "Time to show Kai-chan here that we don't muck around when it comes to cooking good food."

" _Itadakimasu!_ " Everybody chimed in unison, and began tucking in. Kyle dragged a piece of breaded meat through some bulldog sauce and popped it into his mouth. He was instantly bombarded with an explosion of sheer delight. The flavour was astoundingly delicious, possibly compounded by his hunger. Here was his first proper meal since arriving to Oarai, one to proceed many more meals to come, and already its quality was leagues better than any Japanese eatery back in Pittsburgh.

"Oh my gosh!" Kyle uttered as he wolfed down his food. Everything was amazing: the meat, the vegetables, the miso soup, heck, even the rice was outright heavenly. His standards were spoiled; he could never go back to eating 'Japanese' food in America ever again.

The girls looked on in amusement. "It looks like you're really going to enjoy your time here," Yuzu surmised, smiling.

He helped himself to extra portions of rice and soup ("All free of charge? You guys are nuts!"), and by the time their idle chatting resumed everybody was washing down their meals with more tea.

"So, Kai-san, Based on your own personal judgement, how do you think our team fares in terms of strength?" Yuzu asked.

Fully satiated and in a pleasant mood, Kyle paused for a moment to think of a tactful reply. "To me, strength isn't simply about sheer firepower or armour or speed. You need cohesion, a little bit of brains, and a good amount of guts. You girls put on quite a show in the mock battle today. I saw a lot of enthusiasm and energy, was even surprised as how quickly everyone was learning and getting used to their vehicles and roles even though it was your first time. I do believe there's a ton of potential to grow."

"So the members aren't a problem, then," Momo stated. "We'll leave that part to you. What about the tanks?"

Her stern demeanor indicated that she was expecting an honest, straightforward answer. She specifically wanted to hear about the firepower, armour and speed.

Kyle furrowed his brow. He had to be frank. "Hmm... If I were to take reference from a typical high school gunnery team in the US... The lineup isn't exactly the strongest in the world. In fact I'll be honest and go ahead and say it's pretty mediocre. But that's secondary, you know? It's like I said, there are other more important things that can make up for that. We've only just begun, there's plenty of time to get better. In fact, as a recreational club you guys are already-"

"-I see." Momo interjected. "As I mentioned before, we intend to compete in the national high school tournament this year, and we're entrusting you with the task of preparing our team for it. We're not doing this for fun, and we certainly have a lot less time than you think."

 _Geez, lighten up a little, will you?_ Kyle was taken aback by her no-nonsense tone. "Yeah, of course, not a problem," He said. "Tournaments are always a good way to gain more experience. It's all about actual battles, eh."

Momo adjusted her monocle. "We're not taking part simply to gain experience. Our objective is complete and utter victory."

 _I must have heard that wrongly_ , Kyle thought. "Huh?"

"We're aspiring to become the champions," Yuzu clarified sheepishly.

There was a brief pause. Kyle's first thought was to laugh. Everybody likes to talk lightly about this kind of thing every once in a while, after all. He let out a few chuckles before quickly picking up on the solemn atmosphere.

His expression changed to from hilarity to disbelief. "You're serious."

"Indeed," deadpanned Momo.

"You want to win a national competition with those five tanks."

"They're all that we've got," Yuzu muttered wistfully.

Kyle was perplexed. He almost could not believe that they were having this conversation, that he had to point out such a glaringly obvious fact.

"Look, I don't know a whole lot about the standard of opposition you might be facing, but I think that's irrelevant at this point. From what I do know based on the tanks you currently have, I simply cannot envision a way that you guys can come anywhere close to what you wish to achieve. I mean, I can try to pull a miracle out of my pocket and train everybody up to a competent standard in a short amount of time, but we have to stay realistic here. There's only so much one person can do. With five second-rate vehicles there simply isn't enough manpower, horsepower, or firepower to aim for the top in a high-level competition. We may not be lacking in soul and drive, but what what we've got here is a severe materiel deficit on our hands."

He sighed, disgruntled. What he initially thought was going to be a dream job, doing what he loved surrounded by pretty faces, seemed to be taking a turn for the ugly. The others continued to look at him intently.

"What I really want to know is why, though. Why must you have such an obsession with winning? I know a lot of folks back at Hanley who, just like you right now, are passionate about nothing but proving that they're better than the rest. They're the ones who find the greatest dissatisfaction in the game whenever we lose or when things don't go our way. The rest, me included, think of gunnery as a pastime where people can enjoy their love for riding and battling in tanks. Where everybody is constantly striving to improve themselves and learn from one another, and most importantly where strong friendships are forged. This is the joy I take away, and I think it's the most sincere reward gunnery has to offer. I may know very little about Senshado, but I'm going to go on a limb and say that these kinds of things are universal."

Kyle leaned back once more and crossed his arms decisively. "Now, the three of you look like good, sensible people. I'm sure I don't need to explain all of this to you. And that's why I think there's some underlying reason beneath this bizarre idea that you're suggesting to me. We're going to be colleagues from now on so, pardon my bluntness, but I believe a little honesty will go a long way here."

The student council trio remained quiet. A tense cloud of malaise surrounded their table, isolating them from the relaxing atmosphere inside the restaurant. Kyle could not understand what the fuss was all about, but he waited patiently for a reply.

Both Yuzu and Momo were looking at Anzu, apparently waiting for her to be the one to let the hammer fall. The twintailed girl was mimicking Kyle's pose, eyes closed, her mouth curled upwards in a mirthless smile. She took her time to deliberate what she was going to say next.

"Well, well," She finally said. "You've made your point. I'll get straight to it then. The truth is..."

She lifted her head and opened her eyes to stare directly at his.

"... The truth is, if we don't win this year's tournament, you're fired."

"..."

Kyle was dumbstruck. His sat apoplectic for a good few seconds.

 _What... The hell?_

He regained the ability to move his eyes after a few moments, and glanced at the other two girls. Neither of them dared to make eye contact.

"F-fired?" He stammered.

"Yeah. That would be a pretty awful image to portray of yourself, don't you think? Getting the boot in less than a year. Nobody would want to take you in any more. Back to America with you. Harsh."

Kyle finally understood the true might of Anzu's apathy: She was able to deliver a truly harrowing intimidation in an almost sing-song manner.

His shock swiftly gave way to indignation, and he unfroze from his petrified state. Straining to rein himself in and control his voice so as not to make a scene, he hissed, "You're kidding. I know nothing about these terms! Is that a threat?"

Anzu shrugged. "Make what you will of it, but it's true."

"Was this something that had been discussed with my boss?" He demanded.

"In a way, yes." This time her voice betrayed a shred of uneasiness. "Talk about it with her if you need to. The long and short of it is if we aren't the champions, you won't be working here any more."

Kyle's mind was in a mess. Thoughts and emotions were swimming all over the place. His hands were balled into tight fists. He wanted to lash out in hostility. _How dare she play around with me like that! Is my career a game to her?_ A fleeting simulation of him jumping to his fleet and reaching for the collar of Anzu's uniform with both hands played in his mind.

A habitual action kicked in, and luckily it was a good one. Kyle started taking deep breaths to try to slow his heartbeat and quell his anger. He was once an impatient and hot-headed young boy, notorious in high school gunnery for being the first to dash into every engagement, shooting first but never having a chance to ask questions later because he always got dispatched early. When he joined collegiate gunnery he met a very talented individual whom he looked up to immensely, and it was that person who trained him to maintain his composure. Being part of Special Teams meant harnessing a taciturn shrewdness, keeping cool amidst a frenzied environment of enemy tanks bearing down from all directions. Giving in to rage brings about terrible outcomes, be it in gunnery or anywhere else in life.

He allowed a wave of calm to wash over him, just as he does at the start of every tank battle. It gave him the clarity to think back on the things his boss had said. Was this what Chono meant by 'expecting great things'? Perhaps she was trying not to stress him out too much in the beginning, which was why she never explicated anything at the start. They were all mere neutral phrases such as 'you need to convince them otherwise' and 'plenty to have on your plate'.

Him resigning should Oarai fail to clinch top spot at the nationals was probably part of the terms set up by the camp of detractors within the Federation, which the Strengthening Committee had to concede to in order to enact the pilot administration of the foreign instructor program. They possibly wanted to see nothing less than resounding success churned out from the most dire of circumstances before they could deem it worthy of further development. It was overkill, a steep price Kyle had to pay for what he was getting in return, but a small part of his brain came to recognize that it was not unreasonable.

"Ne, Kai-chan," Anzu continued, her tone less biting now. "You were going on about your stories in the university team just a while ago. In those so-called Special Teams, how many tanks are there?"

Kyle was unsure where she was coming from. "Two usually, never more than three."

She paused for dramatic effect before breaking into a shit-eating grin.

"We have two more tanks than you."

"I-" Kyle started to retort, but caught himself. He instantly realized what she was getting at.

This girl had a deliberate plan to reach that preposterous goal.

Satisfied that her message got through, Anzu turned up the smugness even more as she leaned over the table on her elbows.

"I think you're the right man for the job after all, Kai-chan. Your being able to speak Japanese is a happy bonus. Just consider leading us to victory as part of your contract fulfillment requirements, yeah? Think of the prestige and the fame it'll get you. I'll even be extra generous and give you a nice reward. What would you like? A year's supply of dried sweet potatoes? One million yen? Oh! I'll give you Koyama's hand in marriage and you can both start a family and make lots of babies together."

"Kaicho!" Yuzu wailed.

"Just kidding," Anzu teased cheekily. "I'll mull over your reward more seriously. Do your best so you can keep this awesome job, okay? We'll work hard too. We've got a few months to get ready so we'll use that time to set about improving the equipment situation. Meanwhile, you better keep digging those pockets of yours because we really need that so-called miracle. Go for gold, yeah? Looking forward to it~"

Frustration still welled within Kyle. He felt ridiculed, led on by the nose, first by Captain Chono, now by the student council. He had fallen for the classic bait-and-switch. In the beginning it was all, 'yes ma'am, no ma'am, this is awesome ma'am,' but now he saw that the deal he had struck in exchange for a second wind at riding tanks was not going to be as easygoing in his favour as he had initially imagined. He was stuck with tough times abound and no real way out. Failing here would mark the end of his good fortune and a return to a lifestyle he had no intention to lead.

 _Snap out of it_ , he urged himself.

The task ahead was nigh insurmountable and the pressure on him was great. There was no doubt about that. But this was supposed to be nothing new to a Special Teams player like him. He was used to facing overwhelming odds on the battlefield, and he and his crew never backed down without a fight. Just as he had always done before, there was nothing to it but to tackle this challenge head on. Did he not already do something like that this afternoon, and come out on top?

Considering things from this perspective, everything suddenly started to look a lot simpler. He thought back on the fame and prestige that Anzu had mentioned. This was a chance to get back at the NGL who never even gave him a second glance. A chance to prove his worth to his parents, who have been long exasperated with his passion for tanks.

A chance to finally be happy with his life.

Anzu knew precisely what she was going to do with Kyle. Five shabby vehicles from Oarai were going up against the very finest that Japanese high school Senshado has to offer. Their only hope of winning was for all of them to operate as one Special Teams unit. Every crew member has to perform her duty impeccably. Every tank has to function well independently yet in a heartbeat flow in precise coordination with one another. In every battle, Oarai has to break the meta.

It was going to take a herculean effort. But it was not impossible.

"Hold up," Kyle said just then. Something was not right.

"So you mean to say that you guys are fighting to win the tournament... Because you don't want me to go either?"

"Of course!" Anzu replied without missing a beat. "We feel so lucky to have you, you know!"

She looked towards Yuzu and Momo. They nodded obediently.

"The three of us, we're in our final year of school already, and we want to go out with a bang, know what I'm saying?" She explained. "And speaking for the rest of the club, if we don't win at the nationals now, who knows when we're ever going to, right? There's no way we can do that without you. You're a one-in-a-million presence, an amazingly talented individual from a far-off land. We'd hate to lose such a capable instructor such as yourself."

 _That prior sense of peculiarity was a false alarm, then._ Kyle brimmed with self-confidence from hearing her praise. He could almost puff out his chest in pride.

Anzu continued to egg him on. "We need you, Kai-chan. Only you can reach for the top. Do this for us. And for yourself too. We all share in the spoils of victory, ne?"

He sighed in capitulation. _Oh well. Since I'm already stuck here I could at the very least try to enjoy myself as much as I can even if things don't work out in the end. Positive thinking._

"Guess it can't be helped, huh," he conceded patronizingly. "Since you put it that way, it looks like I don't have much of a choice. I'll lend you my strength. Please treat me well."

The depressing atmosphere lifted instantaneously. Even Momo mellowed in expression at last. "Thank goodness!" Yuzu exclaimed, tears of joy brimming in her eyes.

"Good lad," praised Anzu. "Was about as tricky as I expected, but I'm glad we finally got that squared away. Now then, Did you enjoy your dinner?"

"It was awesome, thanks."

Kyle was just happy that everybody's spirits were back up again. He felt no point dwelling on his prior agitations any more, and cast them all aside.

All except one. He did not like the way Anzu addressed him. Sure, that was probably just her style, just her way of projecting affability, and he was most likely just going to have to play along all the way, but in truth there was only one person in the world who had his express permission to call him 'Kai-chan'.

"Great! Wait till you try my rendition. I'm pretty good at cooking too, you know." The student council president grinned from ear to ear, flashing a peace sign. "Check's on me! Time for the last bit of business before we're done for the day. Let's get you acquainted to your new home."

* * *

 **Bi-bip. Bi-bip. Bi-bip. Bi-bip.**

The sound of an alarm clock shattered the morning serenity. The room was steeped in a faint dawn glow. Nestled within a bed beside the nightstand it was perched on, a girl slowly stirred.

 **Bi-bip. Bi-bip. Bi-bip. Bi-bip.**

She mumbled something about strawberry sponge cake in her sleep. In her arms was cradled a teddy bear soft toy that sported numerous bandages and plasters. There were many more like it sitting on a shelf on the other side of the room, in varying colours and degrees of injury.

 **Bi-bi-bi-bi-bi-bi-bi-bi-bi-bi-bi-bi-bi-**

The pink alarm clock that was shaped like a rotund dolphin began sounding incessantly to rouse its owner. The racket finally prompted her to spring awake, roll over on her bed, and reach a hand out to silence it.

 **Click.**

It was 5:30am. The slim girl with short light brown hair rose with haste and proceeded to make her bed.

It was the start of another day for Nishizumi Miho.

She sat her favourite Boko Bear on the bed beside her folded sheets and began to change out of her pyjamas. Trading her sleeping attire for a dark blue track suit that sported a white stripe running down each side, Miho then headed for the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She slipped on a pink cotton headband and put on her running shoes before stepping out of her apartment door, checking that it was locked out of habit.

Waiting for her outside at the entrance of the apartment building, just like most other mornings, was her beloved, inseperable companion. Miho cleared the last few stairs leading down to ground level and strode up to meet her cheerily.

"Good morning, onee-chan," she called out, smiling.

Nishizumi Maho, wearing a beige beanie and a white track suit with light blue accents, smiled back.

"Good morning, Miho," she replied amicably.

The two of them performed a few warm-up stretches, then commenced their exercise routine. They started down the side of the road, running past street lamps, signposts and shopfronts, their footsteps pounding the pavement nimbly.

The sisters have been going for morning jogs together for a minimum of three times every week, a self-sustained exercise regimen continuing almost uninterrupted since Miho's enrolment to the school four years ago. Tracing a path from their student dormitory apartments to the massive automobile and electronics manufactory complex and back would cover roughly five kilometers, and aside from slight variations of running routes to break the monotony, they had been jogging so regularly that such a distance was just enough to barely break a sweat for either of them.

Miho treasured this time the most, as it was one of the few instances where she could truly spend time with Maho as a sister. In school, especially during Senshado practice, they maintained a strictly professional commander/vice-commander relationship, something Maho made a point to establish beginning from Miho's first year in middle school. Though she could never completely break the habit, she was even forbidden from addressing Maho as 'onee-chan' in any context involving Senshado.

However, during their morning runs their conversations can take on a large assortment of informal topics. Maho, dearly fond of her sister as much as Miho is of her, was more than willing to indulge.

"Kikuyo-san sent me a video of Akiho yesterday evening. She seems to be recovering well," Maho said. Akiho is the name of their Akita-inu back home in Kumamoto, who had recently come down with a bout of fever.

"She sent it to me too! She's so cute, prancing around like that." Miho chirped. "I'm glad she's doing okay now. I wish we could have her live with us in the dorms."

"You know that having pets in the dorm is completely out of the question, right?" Maho chuckled. Miho laughed as well.

"You're right, that's true."

The scene on their left opened up to reveal an expansive stretch of grassland shimmering in the morning breeze. Behind it was the edge of the schoolship deck, bordering the vast ocean. The sun clung close to the horizon, rising ever so slowly. Hardly a person was to be found walking the streets. The two of them kept pace side by side as they traced a route through a sparsely built-up area that was reserved for farmland. The air here outside the township was crisp and fresh, unmarred by vehicle or factory exhaust, at least until they got closer to the industrial complex.

Kuromorimine was a massive schoolship, one of the biggest around, and its defining characteristic was the autobahn that formed a long oval loop down the length of the ship's deck. A testament to the school's dedication to emulating German efficiency in engineering, the lack of a speed limit on the autobahn implied a certain danger, but the residents manage to keep accidents to a minimum by abiding to unspoken road rules. The townsfolk aboard the schoolship relied on it greatly to get around quickly, most especially the students, whose residences and dormitories in the downtown area were a good distance from the school compound itself.

Miho and Maho were presently jogging alongside it, separated from it by a steel crash barricade. At this time of morning the autobahn was relatively quiet. Every now and then a vehicle would zoom past at breakneck speed, be it a delivery truck making its morning rounds, or a speedster in a tuned-up Porsche or BMW enjoying the freedom of the open road.

"Ne, I overheard Erika-san the other day talking about a new hamburger joint that opened up in the Stuttgart quarter a week ago," Miho said.

"Erika? Is that so. She's referring to that one that's been on the news lately, right? Shake Shack, was it?"

"Yes, that one. Apparently it's very famous back in the mainland. Erika-san went there some days back to try it herself, and said they were pretty good."

"Hmm..." Maho barely held back an amused grin. "Erika is something of a connoisseur when it comes to hamburgers, so I think it's safe to trust her judgment. I prefer hamburg steak myself, though. Shall we all go there one day after practice?"

"Okay!" Miho answered, her face brimming with sheer elation. Maho could not help but beam back. She was diligent in her duties and could appear downright stoic, but even she knew to let her hair down every once in a while. It was mainly thanks to Miho's radiant presence reminding her that life was not all about riding tanks and upholding the Nishizumi-ryu name. The obligations she bore as heiress to the Nishizumi family were onerous, but ever since they were young and innocent children, Maho was always grateful for her younger sister's company giving her the support and encouragement to carry on.

They rounded the perimeter of the manufactory, a sprawling enclave of warehouses, industrial machinery and smoking chimney stacks. The silhouettes of the buildings drew jagged shapes that cut into the soft blue morning sky. Another of Kuromorimine's many boasts, it comprised an abundance of German brands from Audi to Zeiss. Many of the products made here were consumed by the local community, with the surplus being exported to the ship's numerous ports of call worldwide.

The sisters started jogging back to the start point, occasionally punctuating the silence with light conversation. Not too long later, they came to a stop at their block once more, making good time.

"Let's meet at the carpark in twenty minutes," Maho said.

"Okay."

They parted ways temporarily to go into their separate apartments. It was 6:15am. Miho used the time to hydrate, freshen up and change into her black and grey school uniform. Five minutes before the agreed time, she arrived at the parking compound to find her sister already there.

Maho had changed into her uniform as well, but over that she wore a stylish black leather jacket. Her hands which sported hard-knuckle gloves were gripping the handlebars of a motorcycle that she was in the process of kickstarting. It was a legacy from decades past, a Zundapp KS750. Many girls in the Senshado team favour this and its BMW contemporary to travel to and from school. They were speedy and reliable, and the sidecar was perfect for transporting schoolmates or equipment. Aside from reading, jogging, and weight training, riding and maintaining her motorcycle was one of the few leisures Maho afforded for herself. Her responsibilities as Senshado team commander regularly required her to report for morning practice much earlier than the other members, so it served as her usual commute to school. The sidecar was detached, as was usual for Maho's case, and differentiating hers from those of others was a tiny Boko Bear sticker pasted on the side of the headlamp, a gift from her sister.

The younger Nishizumi on the other hand did not share in the same duty ("I can handle this much on my own, you don't have to worry," Maho would say), so after her morning jogs she usually had more time to herself for breakfast and other matters before going to school by bus. Sharing a ride to school with Maho was rare, and typically meant that she had to be involved with some sort of special arrangement. In this case, there was going to be an interview with a television news agency that morning before practice. The reporters had initially requested the appearance of only the commander, but upon Maho's insistence, decided to include the vice-commander as well. Miho had never been in front of a television broadcast camera before, so she was a little nervous.

The motorcycle engine roared to life and Maho got on. Holding up a pair of _Stahlhelme_ , she beckoned Miho to mount up. Miho took her helmet and put it on as she carefully clambered onto the pillion passenger seat.

"It's been a long time since we did this," Miho said as she adjusted the chin strap of her _Stahlhelm._ Their last weekend joyride together on this motorcycle was a few months ago.

Maho withdrew a pair of aviator shades from her jacket pocket and put them on before wearing her own helmet. "Yeah, it's been a while. Are you comfortable back there?"

"I am," Miho replied. She placed her hands on Maho's shoulders, who pushed off the kickstand, threw the gear selector into first and rolled the vehicle out of the carpark and into the main road.

The wide lanes of the autobahn were still fairly void of cars, so upon merging into the highway Maho poured on the speed unreservedly and let rip, accelerating upwards of 130km/h. Miho held on firmly but without worry. During her morning commutes to school she would very regularly see students traveling in this manner. Kuromorimine girls knew better than to challenge each other to races, and those whom she witnessed hurtling down the rightmost lane were assumed to know exactly what they were doing.

Right now, Maho was one of them. She expertly weaved through slower traffic, even overtaking a few sports cars along the way. One could glimpse upon the sight of the two girls tearing down the highway, Maho in her chic jacket and sunglasses, and easily imagine an iconic hard rock song playing in the background.

A handful of minutes passed before their destination came into view. Maho downshifted and left the highway to the danger zone as she banked into the exit that led towards the school grounds.

At the gate, the girls were greeted by the imposing structure of the Kuromorimine High School main building. Built in Germanic classical architecture, with sloping brown roofs, beige walls, and rectangular windows, its centrepiece was a statue of a winged Valkyrie, spear held high aloft, perched upon an obelisk atop the middle cupola.

Just below this feature, the ostentatious region in between a row of third floor windows and an intricately carved gable was prime advertising space for the school's various achievements, commanding full view from all students entering the compound. Here, in loud brazen font, a banner proclaiming their most lauded vaunt in recent times fluttered proudly in the breeze.

10-TIME CONSECUTIVE HIGH SCHOOL SENSHADO CHAMPIONS

This one in particular, having been displayed for a good number of months already, was fast approaching the school record for longest hang time, a proportionate measure of its distinction compared to any other accolade. Senshado was pivotal to the schoolship's strength and prestige, and they were well-known and respected because of it. The Nishizumi school, foremost patrons to the ship, were pioneers of the art, and the proponent of their signature principles of resolute persistence and ironclad discipline. Their centrality around the way of the tank was such that everybody on board held the Senshado team in high adoration, whose ten straight years as national champions was a monumental feat previously unheard of in the history of the sport. Morale was at a high, and everybody was eagerly waiting for the '10' to change to '11' some time this year.

Pompous as it was, the banner had become such a regular fixture of the school's facade that some people hardly paid any attention to it any more. This could not have been any truer for Miho's case. In fact, she did her best to block it out from her consciousness as much as she could. Every time she saw it evoked a bitter feeling. From its position at the metaphorical mantelpiece of the school it waved at her mockingly, as if to remind her that she had no part to play in its existence.

True enough, during her time as a first-year member of the school team, Miho had always felt as though she had done nothing of note to contribute to her school's victory. She was constantly one step behind in Kuromorimine's unwavering charge towards victory, and bearing the crucial role of flag tank commander during the four knockout matches played at the tournament, she had on more than one occasion committed naive errors in judgement that nearly cost her team the winning streak. She was often either hesitating to make critical decisions, or breaking formation and going against doctrine in reaction to developing situations on the battlefield. Had Maho nor Erika not been around to save her bacon in the nick of time, there would have been dire consequences for her.

There was no room in the Nishizumi-ryu for moralistic concessions, and it was hard for a compassionate girl like Miho to cope. She could not even understand why her presence was required for the TV interview, when she had been overcast by her elder sister's shadow the entire time. Everybody wants to know more about the successor to the head of the distinguished Nishizumi school, the prodigy with a guaranteed place in the national team, the brilliant and charismatic leader beloved by all, not a dilettante of a vice-commander as Erika had once called her.

Full of dejected thoughts, Miho sighed and rested her chin against Maho's back. The gesture was not lost on the elder sister, who accurately guessed at what might be going through her mind. Maho quietly shook her head.

She felt that their mother's constant admonishments to Miho had always been too harsh. Maho had reminded Miho countless times why she was the vice-commander and not anybody else. With an impeccable memory for tiny details and a solid understanding and judgement of the true strengths of each team member, Miho was extremely competent in identifying the right people for various roles. Against opponents whom she understood well she possessed a near godlike ability to predict their every intention and stay two steps ahead. Coupled with her amazing flexibility to adapt to any situation, a trait terribly overlooked in a doctrine that emphasizes formation and steadfastness on the frontline, she was virtually unmatched in one-on-one battles. If Maho was said to be the strongest in terms of strategy, then Miho would be strongest by way of tactics.

Though Erika matched up to her in almost every aspect related to combat, she was a paragon of the school's formidable ideals, and so there was something Miho possessed that she did not which effectively placed them leagues apart. Outside the battlefield, Miho's tenderness was a shining beacon contrasting against Kuromorimine's grim stolidness. Many of the other Senshado girls were attracted to her sunny demeanor, which made trainings a lot less unbearable. A cornerstone to their morale, they looked up to her as a leader not for her combat prowess, but for her humanity, something that Maho silently acknowledged Kuromorimine was dreadfully lacking.

The two of them arrived outside the school's colossal tank shed compound. Maho halted to allow Miho to disembark and proceed with preparations first while she parked. The TV reporters ought to be arriving any moment now if they were not already waiting inside, and Maho wanted her to receive them first. Her intention for having Miho be included in the interview was that it would hopefully help bring her closer to understanding her true importance and place in the team.

"Will you be all right by yourself?" Maho asked. Miho nodded as she put away her _stalhelm_ , careful to hide her earlier emotions with a smile. Her reflection in Maho's aviators grinned back in encouragement. _Chin up, have more faith in yourself, don't let these thoughts get to you_ , as her peers would often say. _All this worrying is unbecoming and only serves to inconvenience others._

Her teammates were there for her and her sister was there for her. None of them were worth the trouble she was creating for herself.

"Leave it to me, onee-chan," she replied merrily.

"Are you sure?"

Miho spoke with finality, more to assure herself. "Yes."

Maho, seemingly satisfied, nodded simply and pulled away. Miho shouldered her schoolbag, turned around, and slipped past a pair of doors leading into a gigantic hangar.

Another long day of training, school, then some more training, was about to begin. Par for the course at Kuromorimine.

* * *

 **A/N: Welcome to chapter 4 of GuP:A. It's been a long time coming. I apologize for the prolonged absence, and I heartily welcome all the new readers here. Thank you for giving my story a try.**

 **I've been to the real-life Cook Fan restaurant before. It's actually quite a distance outside the town of Oarai in Ibaraki. I had to cycle nine kilometres on a mama-chari bicycle I rented at Oarai station just to get there, and then another nine kilometres back to return it before the end of the day. The tank-shaped tonkatsu in the anime is a real thing, and it was so delicious, though it took quite a while to get to the table. Good thing there was plenty of chopped cabbage and roasted barley tea to help tide over the wait. The interior looks exactly like how it does in the anime, right down to the hairstyle of the shop manager, who's very actively involved with fan activities in Oarai such as the various characters' birthday celebrations.**

 **Erika and hamburgers, that's a meme in the Japanese community. It's stated in her official bio that hamburgers are her favourite food, and one cannot help but find it a cute trait for such an aloof girl. Yes, I do think Erika is really pretty despite her coldness. She's one of my favourite Kuromorimine characters. But I think she would be the kind of girl who would detest boys. Not to hint anything of her 'preferences', of course.**

 **On that note, my image of Kuromorimine was taken from a manga spinoff called Phase Erika. It revolves around Erika as the main character beginning from when she first enrolled to KMM (I'm getting annoyed at spelling the whole name every single time, haha) in middle school, and follows her as she rises to prominence in the Senshado team. Miho and Maho figure greatly in the storyline too, and I tried to get an idea of Miho's life in KMM through reading it. Go check it out at your favourite vendor if you have the time, I highly recommend it.**

 **Maho looking all Tom-Cruise like, I always pictured her being all cool like that. Take it away, Mr. Loggins!**

 **DISCLAIMER : The dog living in the Nishizumi manor may or may not actually be called Akiho. The running joke here is that due to her younger sister's prolonged absence in the original series Maho had taken to calling it 'Miho'.**

 **Oops, I've droned on for far too long. Let's meet again in chapter five.**


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